Shawn Bayes, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver, says her organization supports the Correctional Service of Canada program that allows some infants to live with their moms in special units on prison grounds.Arlen Redekop / PNG Files

A federal program that keeps incarcerated mothers and babies together behind bars is a huge benefit to both the children and the inmates, says the executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver.

Shawn Bayes said Tuesday that her non-profit agency is fully supportive of the Correctional Service of Canada program that allows some infants to live with their moms in special units on prison grounds.

“Moms themselves are screened to see if they’re eligible to participate in the program, and they can’t have been convicted of an offence against a child or one where there’s reasonable expectation where you could see they might endanger a child,” Bayes said.

The program is in the spotlight this week after Postmedia News revealed that B.C. killer Kelly Ellard got pregnant while serving a life sentence for beating and drowning 14-year-old Reena Virk in 1997.

Ellard is expected to give birth in the coming weeks.

The CSC is not commenting on her case or what will happen to the baby when it’s born.

There are currently six babies living in federal women’s prisons across Canada, CSC communications advisor Sara Parkes told Postmedia News.

Kelly Ellard, pictured outside Vancouver Supreme Court in 2002, is expecting her first child in the next few weeks. Ellard, now 34, is serving a life sentence for beating and drowning 14-year-old Reena Virk in 1997.Ian Lindsay /
PNG Files

Bayes said the “Mother-Child Program” lets babies form an important attachment to their moms from the beginning.

“The parental role of caring and nurturing for a child is really foundational if you think of the benefits to a child that will occur. People call it healthy attachment,” she said.

“Good family connections don’t just have proven health benefits for children, but that family connection piece is really important for reducing recidivism, for ensuring that offenders do very well in their transition to the community.”

She said a B.C. social worker would go into the prison to assess any expectant mom to see if the program would work for her and the baby.

“That social worker’s job is to ensure the protection and the best interests of the child, and they will apply the law in B.C.,” Bayes said.

“All of the decisions here are being made in recognition of who is the primary focus, and the primary focus once that child is born is the child.”

If the mom is allowed to have the baby in prison, they are provided with a separate “house” on the grounds, Bayes explained. And other inmates with non-violent records can apply to be babysitters and support the new mom.

“You have to have people who can support and watch over that relationship,” Bayes said of the babysitters. “They are highly screened. I can’t emphasize that enough. This program is a very hard program to get into.”

She said moms inside prison sometimes have more support than impoverished women in the community who are trying to feed their families.

“It has better health outcomes for children because you have a mother who is not struggling in terms of nutrition,” Bayes said.

Ajax, Ont., resident Cash Walker has a different, very personal view: He’s against allowing infants to live in federal prisons with their incarcerated mothers.

Cash Walker, born in the Mercer Reformatory in 1951, as an infant.

That’s because Walker was born in 1951 inside Canada’s first women’s penitentiary — the notorious Andrew Mercer Reformatory — and subjected to violence that he believes has affected him his entire life.

“I am totally against it because no matter how good a mother is, she can’t control the environment that she is in. What if she’s holding the baby when a prisoner picks a fight with her, or what happens to the baby when you’re in solitary confinement?”

He reached out to Postmedia this week after reading its report on Ellard getting pregnant after a private family visit with her federal parolee boyfriend.

Walker, who was later adopted after landing in the care of the Children’s Aid Society, only learned what happened to him in 2013 when he fought a successful court battle to get his late mother’s juvenile record.

That’s when he discovered that he spent his early months inside the Toronto prison that would later be investigated for beatings, torture and allegations of using experimental drugs on inmates.

Walker’s mother Muriel was sent to Mercer for being “incorrigible” — a 17-year-old who got pregnant out of wedlock.

One record he obtained was a letter from a doctor to the Mercer warden about injuries he sustained at the hands of prison staff.

Cash Walker and his mom Muriel before he was adopted as a five-year-old.

“The infant was admitted to our emergency ward with severe trauma to his head and arm. These injuries do not appear to be accidental,” the letter says.

While Walker accepts that things are likely much different today inside federal prisons for women, he still feels it’s too risky to allow babies to live there. He thinks his life-long struggle with mental illness is a direct result of what happened to him at Mercer.

“None of these people are in there for being Sunday school teachers. Good intentions for what it’s worth are not enough,” he said. “Lots of people have good intentions.”

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Market to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.